Fabric Colors in the Renaissance

copyright Historical Novelists Center 1999

Many of the colors that we have nowadays for cloth simply did
not exist in the Renaissance -- notably, the aniline dyes of the
mid-1800s and those chemical dyes developed since. All of the
hues of fabric were organic colors -- madder or cochineal for
reds, blues from wode or indigo, and so on. This meant that the
colors were generally softer, and almost incapable of clashing
as the harsh, vibrant shades of today can.

Whatever the colors may have been, some of them had names so
obscure we cannot possibly relate them to any hue. Really, any
color could be called Ape's Laugh or Love-Longing! For the writer
of fiction, these can add a certain atmosphere, as gallants or
lady wrangle over the color for the upholstery or a new doublet.
Certainly, men still thought it manly to want to look well, and
therefore worried about such things, so it will matter to anyone
of the better classes, not merely ladies. To not care is the mark
of a peasant lout.

For your ease, we have assembled the names under general hues,
with dates for when they were first known or when they were notably
fashionable.